Monthly Archives: August 2010

Because GP and I and the in-laws are in Sonoma this weekend doing a little (ok, a lot of) wine-tasting, it seems appropriate to share this picture of Sydney in one of his favorite perches: atop one of our wine racks. From there, he can survey the back yard and make sure none of the squirrels are up to any shenanigans.

I read this article a couple weeks ago in the Sunday New York Times, and it rang so true for me– but it has not always been so. I love Things. Like, seriously, am enamored with Stuff. This may have something to do with the fact that, for the last couple years, I’ve been working for what I’ll generously call a “student wage,” but I hope that it also is a reflection of efforts I’ve made to place more emphasis on experiences rather than Stuff. Besides the fact that, as a mid-to-late twenty-something, I’ve had to move most of my worldly possessions from place to place about four times (in the last four years, jeez), it has become clear to me that, while certain objects can evoke memories of a certain place and time, memories don’t necessarily need to be accompanied by a commemorative shot glass.

I’m nowhere near becoming one of those people who only owns one hundred things, but let’s say that I am now more confident that our next move will be a bit less painful.

What about you, friends? Are you a Stuff person? Could you even imagine living with 100 things?

Among the long list of things that cats like (which includes attacking your feet as you sleep peacefully, climbing and thus sort of ruining the screens on your windows, and running at top speed through the dining room), is napping in warm spots of sunlight. However, sometimes cats are idiots, and lay like this:

Hey dummy, get off the rug!

After fleeing this photo in humiliation, he is parked full under the dining room table, his go-to “Leave me alone, jerks!” spot. Don’t feel too sorry for him– he has it pretty good.

While there is general agreement in the household during the NHL (Sharks!), NFL (he likes the Giants, I have little to no preference, and am happy to support Little Brother Eli), and NBA (neither of us could care less) seasons, I cannot say that this is the case throughout the entire sporting year. Take, for instance, most college sports. This is where our undergrad backgrounds shine through (because, let’s face it, neither of us can bring ourselves to support our mediocre-at-best grad school alma mater): GP is an ACC guy, and I am a Pac-10 (-11? What are we supposed to call it now?) girl. With both of us coming from Division 1 schools, there is bound to be some discord. We have, however, reached a tentative peace; it’s unlikely that our respectiveteams face each other in the regular season, and their particular strengths in recent seasons have made it pretty rare that they see each other in the post-season (though it has happened, and was a tense time). Let’s see how it will shake out when we have kids, though, because I am of the opinion that a baby Bruin is way cuter than an infant Yellow Jacket— what do you think?

More recently, there has arisen the issue of the MLB. Now, being a child (and now amateur adult) of the Bay Area (and all-around reasonable human being), I’m a Giants fan. I can appreciate the A’s, but the Coliseum is an awful ballpark, and I just can’t get behind the AL. And GP? Well, I suppose I could settle for being grateful that, being from New York, he’s not a Yankees fan. Instead, he has been a Braves fan since he was a kid– an affection that I can only imagine was strengthened by seven years in Atlanta. As this season has gone on, it seems more and more possible that our teams will be competing, directly or indirectly, for a spot in the post-season. This weekend is their last series of the season, and I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to be a little tense (the Bravos came out ahead last night, but the Gigantes have a pretty strong hold over the Wild Card— and I think we strengthen our bond through shared animosity toward the PhilliesGP).

This, however? Just uncalled for. Tim Lincecum can wear his hair however he likes, as long as he keeps bringing me that just-about-3 ERA. Oh, Timmy.

There are relatively few people that instantly bothered me, but here are my annoyances:

Jason the Bowler Hat Guy: enough already. You wear a creepy headpiece, and constantly insist you’re straight. Look, we don’t care either way– just stop being a weirdo. You created a completely ridiculous garment, and will not be missed. (And skipping out on the opportunity for Tim to say, “Bonne chance”? You are awful.)

Mondo: stop complaining about being excluded when you don’t talk to anyone. All that skulking around isn’t helping anything. [Note: I wrote this before he had his teary confessional moment, and now I feel like a bit of a jerk. Mondo, I’ll be your friend! Just loosen up.]

So far, I’m enjoying Peach, Gretchen, Valerie, and Christopher the most (also, dear lord, I find it sort of precious that Andy brought an airbrush makeup machine). [Post-results: I’m going to miss Nicholas! Even though he made a semi-silly look for this challenge.] I fear that Peach may not be long for the PR world, which is a bummer because she’s an “older” contestant who manages not to be a Marla or Wendy Pepper (and, yes, this most recent dress was a bit of a disaster). Gretchen has proven herself to be a bit of a badass, winning the first and second challenges, and saying that, while she’s a “green” designer, fashion comes first– hopefully this means cool sustainable fabrics rather than burlap-sack capri pants. Oh, and bonus points for using “literally” correctly, especially after someone else (SARAH!) so grossly misused it in the beginning of the episode. [Plus, the “My mom’s going to be so proud!” comment had me all misty. Crying is one of my hobbies, it seems.]

The designers don’t seem completely bent on destroying each other just yet, which is refreshing– it’s nice to see the guys and the girls hanging out and being friends, rather than saying things like, “I’m not here to make friends.” Chill, folks on other reality shows. We know why you’re there.

Oh, and the new 90-minute episode length isn’t as bothersome to me as I thought it would be, at least not yet. Especially here in the beginning, it’s giving the audience a chance to get to know the contestants, but I do worry about what will happen as the season wears on.

Have you been watching? Who do you like so far? Whose auf-ing cannot come soon enough? What other headwear might Jason want to consider?

So, you may be familiar with the fact that I have eleventy billion pictures from our Australian honeymoon. And, what do you know, here are some more! When we left Sydney, we headed up to Cairns, stayed in Palm Cove (just outside Cairns, which seemed a bit full of backpackers for my taste, so good call, GP), and thoroughly enjoyed the “hang out next to the pool/beach” segment of our trip. Witness…

Next to a big public pool area in Cairns proper– we were not bathing suited-up, but did manage to have an amazing dinner. (GP couldn’t resist the name of this place, but be forewarned, there is auto-play music on their site! Bad job, restaurant.)

Another side trip during this leg was to the rainforest in Kuranda, where we saw a real, live snake (no kidding, it was just slithering around and scaring me), learned ways in which many plants can kill us, and took a train through the mountains. Side note: I wore the hell out of my UCLA cap, and Greg had brought his SJSU t-shirt– would anyone have been able to guess that he was the one who got more comments on his collegiate attire? Yes, I am sort of an elitist. Sorry.

Our last full day was spent out on the Great Barrier Reef, where I managed to get a crazy, sci-fi-level sunburn on my back– who could have guessed that floating around all day with my be-masked face in the water would result in such searing pain? You know, except me. Because I am fully aware of my pigment challenges. All this after I had laid awake all night, imagining all the potentially terrifying creatures that would try to eat me as I explored the Big Blue World! Really, though, in the end, it was definitely one of those “once in a lifetime” experiences, truly. And! We got cake at the end! And tea! Tea and cake time, you guys. I just about died.

When we got Sydney last October, he was three months old. It’s not like he came with a kitty birth certificate, but we are recognizing this weekend as his birthday– he is celebrating by taking naps and alternately being sweet and a total jerk. You know, like usual. And now, cower before my awesome photo-doctoring skills!

This is probably the face he would make if I put an actual hat on him-- completely thrilled.